


Hope Needs Will (And Vice Versa)

by overratedantihero



Category: Green Lantern - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Communication, Cuddling, Dissociation, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Nightmare, Song fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-09-22 15:33:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9614363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overratedantihero/pseuds/overratedantihero
Summary: Hal and Barry are in a committed relationship. That sometimes comes with complications.





	1. Something I Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I had a dream the other night  
> About how we only get one life  
> It woke me up right after two  
> I stayed awake and stared at you  
> So I wouldn’t lose my mind"
> 
> -Something I Need (One Republic)

Hal woke up from his dream with a violence usually reserved for waking up from a head injury mid-fight. He pushed himself up on his elbows, too disturbed to lie still. Next to him, Barry slept unperturbed. The gentle rise and fall of his chest and his relaxed expression was a soothing image. It also stood as a foil to the horribly still Barry that had haunted Hal’s dream. That Barry had been contorted and bloody, with pain etched in his expression. Hal could still see the glassy eyes and yanked back cowl.

Their line of work wasn’t safe or assured, Hal knew this. Hal had always known this; the risk and uncertainty was part of the appeal. Adrenaline was one hell of a drug, and Hal accessed it regularly just by virtue of being a Green Lantern. Barry, too, encountered near constant danger in his role as the Flash. Barry wasn’t in it for the challenge or the rush, of course, but that didn’t mean he was immune to the consequences. Theoretically, Barry and Hal could die in a moment’s notice (and for good this time, never mind past scares).

Barry stirred with a soft sigh and Hal took the opportunity to study him. Barry’s hair was tousled from the pillow and there was a hint of drool coming from his slacked jaw. His hand lay flat and outstretched between him and Hal. Hal had probably been curled underneath Barry’s arm before rolling away in his sleep. Hal wished he hadn’t; now there wasn’t any way to curl up against Barry without waking him.

Then again, maybe he wanted Barry awake. The images of the Barry from his nightmare were still vivid, and Hal could see them every time he closed his eyes. Even aside from the base comfort of having Barry’s body wrapped around him, it would be nice to see Barry moving and blinking and rolling his eyes at Hal’s antics.

Resolved, Hal scooted closer, picking up Barry’s arm and nestling under it and against Barry’s chest. Barry shifted and groaned. He opened his bleary eyes and tucked Hal closer against himself.

“Mornin’” Barry mumbled, placing a clumsy kiss to Hal’s forehead.

“Bar, it’s 3am,” Hal murmured. This position wasn’t exceptionally comfortable: his spine was curved at an awkward angle to keep him from being completely burrowed against Barry, which meant Barry’s face was parallel with his. But Barry’s weight against him was comforting and being so close meant he could see the affection and sleepiness in Barry’s impossibly blue eyes. That was more than good enough.

“Like I said. Mornin’. What’re you doing awake?”

“I had a nightmare.” Hal shrugged as if he hadn’t woken up terrified. “No big deal.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Sure." There was a beat as Hal chose his wording. "If we only die one more time… I want to die with you," he finally said, solemnly.

Barry sat up and so Hal followed suit. Barry’s eyes were alert even if his sagging posture and slower-than-usual speech betrayed his exhaustion. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” Hal said, “I want to die by your side.”

Barry’s eyebrows were furrowed. He ran a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Finally, if only to break the silence, Hal clarified.

“I’m not proposing a murder-suicide or anything. I’m just saying… you matter. A lot. To me. And I need you. So when things go down, and doing what we do they have to go down eventually, then I want to be by your side. Even if we don’t have anyone else, I want it to be us. Side by side.”

Barry’s expression softened, and he pulled Hal into a tight embrace.

“Hal, that’s a roundabout way to say you love me,” he said. “Can I ask what prompted this?” He released Hal so that Hal could look at him as he spoke.

“A dream. Nightmare. Something. The fact that you knew I needed to stay the weekend after the week from hell I just had. The fact that you still go to parties with me, even when you end up in the corner of the room on your phone.”

“You still go to jazz clubs with me,” Barry posed. “Even if you do end up in the corner of the room on my phone.”

Hal grinned and cupped his jaw. “That’s what I’m talking about, though. We’re not the same, but I’m so fucking glad we’ve made it this far.”

“You say that like we don’t have further to go,” Barry said gently, darting forward to peck Hal on the lips.

“It’s just like you to be hopeful,” Hal teased. He lay back down and pat beside him to indicate that Barry should too. Barry did, and he wrapped his arm around Hal and pressed their foreheads together.

The city outside had taken on an ethereal glow, quietly announcing dawn’s impending arrival. In a few more hours, Barry would have woken them up to make breakfast. He’d probably use the speedforce and he’d likely undercook the bacon on accident. They’d have eaten while Barry’d glanced over some case file he’d illegally taken home to review. Maybe a Rogue would have cropped up and they’d have had a Sunday bout. As it were, Hal expected they’d be sleeping in that day.

“Nightmare or otherwise, don’t get freaked,” Barry said. “We have each other, and even if there’s no one else, we will always have each other. I may be hopeful, but you’re willful. So be your default stubborn self and accept that.”

Hal smirked and meant to reply something snarky or meaningful or light. But he just kissed Barry instead. When Barry pulled away, it was to whisper:

“Oh, and Hal?”

“Yeah, Barr?”

“If we only live once, I want to live with you.”


	2. Good Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And I'm still driving too fast  
> You've been begging me to slow it down  
> You know I won't stop  
> Accelerate six feet underground  
> These bad habits are what make me  
> These bad habits are what make you  
> We are good together!"  
> -The Runaways

“He’s going to die, isn’t he?” Barry asked. His arms were crossed to hide his white knuckled fists.

“I’m afraid he might,” J’onn responded solemnly. He placed a hand on Barry’s shoulder, in a gesture of solidarity and in attempt at comfort. “I’m sorry.”

Barry uncrossed his arms and met J’onn’s mournful gaze. “I’m sorry too. Even if he survives, your car tires are wrecked.”

The two men returned their attention to Hal, who was slamming the gas in J’onn’s Buick, yanking the steering wheel and grinding out tight circles before speeding down a stretch. He made a sharp U-turn and sped towards the spectators. Humoring him, Barry waited until the last possible second before tapping into the speedforce and zipping out of Hal’s path. Without so much as flinching, J’onn allowed the car to fly right through his person.

“I’ll be right back,” Barry murmured to J’onn before disappearing into a blur. He ran alongside the car, slowing down to match its speed, and gestured to Hal through Hal’s open window.

“Rude!” Barry shouted over the wind. Hal laughed.

“I knew you’d be fine! But you’re going to burn through your civvies chasing after me like this.” Hal kept his path straight for the sake of carrying on the conversation. J’onn’s figure was disappearing into the distance.

“I have spare clothes in the car. Maybe you should ease up on the gas a little,” Barry suggested. “I don’t think this car was designed to withstand reckless Hal Jordans.” Nor were reckless Hal Jordans designed to survive massive car wrecks, Barry thought to himself.

For the first time since knowing one another, Hal appeared to heed Barry’s advice. He decelerated considerably and Barry breathed a sigh of relief. Which was promptly recanted when Hal suddenly jerked the wheel and veered off road.

Barry gave out a long-suffering sigh and slowed to a stop as Hal drove circles into the desert sand. J’onn appeared beside Barry.

“I had thought you were joking about his safety earlier. Now I’m unsure.”

“I mean, I was,” Barry muttered. He watched Hal and noted a sizable rock that was directly in his path. He wasn’t positive the rock would throw the car off, but he could just see it sending Hal spinning. Barry tapped into the speedforce again, this time to remove the rock a safe distance away from Hal’s antics. The next state over seemed appropriate. He returned to J’onn’s side.

“He has his ring,” J’onn reminded him gently. “And it’s not every day we’re able to take advantage of such a space.” He gestured to the ribbon of highway that stretched out so far that it disappeared into the horizon. The expanse of desert on either side was even vaster, its surface only interrupted by sparse desert foliage, rocks, and distant mountains. Only one other car had passed by, and that was upwards of an hour ago.

It was also upwards of an hour ago that they had stopped in the first place. Their impromptu, covert League road trip had left Hal restless and bored. When Bruce had called to alert them that he, Clark, and Diana had been momentarily held up at a gas station due to car troubles (which became a small crisis when Clark tried to play mechanic only to accidentally wrench out the engine), Hal had begged for a break in the monotony of the trip. J’onn and Barry agreed that it wouldn’t be wise to have too much distance between themselves and the others, but it was J’onn who had given Hal the keys so that he could “let off some steam.”

“I know that logically,” Barry winced as the car briefly managed on two wheels before its full force returned to the ground. “But when he does stuff like _that_ , I have trouble remembering that he’s a Lantern. We risk our lives to save our cities and the world regularly, _why_ does he have to do it in his spare time too?”

“I was under the impression that it’s just who he is.” J’onn shrugged. Barry opened his mouth to reply, but he held his thought long enough to speed towards the car and tilt the passenger side mirror so it wouldn’t clip a nearby cactus.

“I don’t want him to change, I just want him to be aware. He’s a walking PSA for the Ad Council,” Barry said when he returned.

“Thank you for salvaging my mirror.”

“Don’t mention it. Hal’s the one who should be thanking me; I know for a fact that he can’t afford to pay car damages right now,” Barry muttered. “That’s another thing: I’ve been begging him to start up a savings account. Even if it’s just a few dollars at a time. His bank account balance is nerve wracking, never mind his credit score.”

“You… know Lantern’s credit score?” J’onn asked slowly.

“I cosigned for his most recent apartment.”

“Is that something friends often do...?” J’onn’s tone was curious, not judgmental, but Barry’s face grew warm. He may have revealed too much; although he and Hal had been in a relationship for quite some time, they’d never formally declared it with the league. He could lie to the Martian and claim it a friendly act, but that felt disingenuous and unnecessary.

“Not exactly,” he began. Just then Hal pulled up beside them. He was flushed and practically glowing with the adrenaline from his joyride.

“Bats just called.” He held up Barry’s phone, which Barry hadn’t realized Hal had. “Car’s fixed and they’re catching up.”

“You weren’t driving and on the phone, were you?” Barry chided, reaching through the window and taking back his cell. Hal rolled his eyes.

“It was only for half a second. I even slowed down some.”

 Hal left the key in the ignition and crawled into the passenger seat. J’onn slid behind the wheel and adjusted his mirrors and seat. Barry begrudgingly crawled into the backseat behind the driver’s side. Hal twisted in his seat to flash Barry a disarming grin that thawed some of the speedster’s irritation.

“Thanks, by the way,” Hal said. Barry raised his eyebrows.

“For what?”

Hal shrugged. “Moving the rock. Adjusting the mirror. Stopping short of removing my wheels.” Barry melted a bit. He hadn’t realized that Hal noticed.

“Don’t get too used to it. I don’t want to encourage your reckless habits,” Barry murmured without any real bite.

“But you’re also not going to stop me, which I appreciate,” Hal said. “Say what you want, we’re good together.” He turned back to settle in his seat as J’onn started the car.

“I think I understand,” J’onn murmured without meeting their eyes.

“Understand what?” Barry asked.

“ _Dude_ , did you just sneak a peek,” Hal glared, gesturing to his head.

“I didn’t mean to. You’re very loud,” J’onn retorted defensively.

“What do you understand, J’onn?” Barry asked again, over Hal’s irate mutterings.

“Why you were fretting over Lantern’s credit score.”

“Really, Barr? You told him about my credit score?”

“Not… in any certain terms,” Barry said meekly, sliding back in his seat. He turned to look outside the window, just in case Hal was glaring at him using the rearview mirror. He was. 

“Why don’t we hand him our sex tape too,” Hal hissed. J’onn suddenly looked alarmed.

“We don’t have a sex tape,” Barry assured him. “And if we did, we certainly wouldn’t be passing it around, Hal,” He added. Hal was quiet for a moment, which disturbed Barry further.

“If we’re going to tell J’onn about my credit score, we should tell him about your eating habits,” he finally said. “Metabolism doesn’t mean anything if your heart is clogged with grease.”

“That’s not medically possible. Besides, you’re one to talk.”

“Nope, that’s different. Junk food is cheap and I’m broke. You have an emergency fund. You can buy a head of broccoli every once in a while.”

Barry kicked his seat in retaliation. “My emergency fund is for if my car breaks down, not for broccoli.”

“Barry. Barry, you literally don’t even need a car. Your legs are your car. Why would you need a car, Barry? Don’t even respond to that, I already know the answer: you don’t.”

“The fund has other uses too. But fine, I’ll invest in some broccoli. Although you do realize that the amount of broccoli that it would take to match my caloric intake needs is astronomical.”

Hal sighed and leaned his seat back so that he could glare at Barry in full force. “I’m not saying you should only eat broccoli. I’m just saying some green stuff wouldn’t kill you. Probably the opposite.”

Barry grinned and leaned towards him. “Is Hal Jordan worried about me? He asked, feigning shock.

“Yes. You dork.”

Barry darted forward and pecked him on the lips. “I’ll start eating green stuff. In exchange, you drink less.”

“Allen, be reasonable.”

“I am being reasonable. What are you going to do when your liver finally quits? Construct a new one?”

With a completely straight face, Hal said: “Yes.”

Barry rolled his eyes and leaned back against the window. “ _That’s_ unreasonable. By definition. I’m not asking you to abstain entirely. Just take it down a notch.”

“You’re killing me,” Hal groaned, adjusting his chair back to an upright position. “But I’ll do it as long as you’re eating kale or something while I do.”

Barry beamed. “It’s a deal.”

J’onn remained quiet while they bartered. He was proud of the two, as his teammates and friends. Hal was right: they were good together.


	3. Mess is Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re the reason that I feel so strong  
> The reason that I’m hanging on  
> You know you gave me all the time  
> Oh, did I give enough of mine?
> 
> -Mess is Mine, Vance Joy

Barry had his mouth on Hal’s neck and his hands running up and down his sides. He kissed up towards his jaw and placed a chaste peck on Hal’s cheek. Despite Barry’s efforts, Hal was almost rigid in his unresponsiveness. Hal had a hand on Barry’s lower back but it was close to dead weight, and Hal’s eyes were glassed over. Barry pulled back and cupped Hal’s jaw.

“Hey. You okay?” Barry murmured in a soft, gentle voice. Hal blinked as if just realizing Barry were there.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said in a distant, decidedly not fine voice. He rubbed his thumb in circles on the small of Barry’s back. Barry pecked his temple.

“I think we should take a moment, okay? Do you want to watch a movie on the couch? Or we can just lay in bed for a little while.” Hal’s eyebrows furrowed as if he were struggling to understand and there was a pause before he formulated a response.

“Barr, no, there’s no reason to spoil the night,” he finally said, leaning forward to kiss Barry’s neck. Barry stopped him by placing a hand on Hal’s chest.

“Can we take a break for me, then? I want to just sit and cuddle for a bit. Maybe even put something on as background noise.” Hal paused again, but then he was slowly nodding. Barry guided him to the couch and picked up the remote, flipping through channels before settling on a military documentary. Hal shook his head, took the remote, and changed it to a cartoon on another channel. Barry arranged it so that Hal was settled between his legs, head on Barry’s chest.

They laid in silence for a while, Barry stroking Hal’s back and shoulders and Hal staring blankly at the television. Eventually, Hal came back to himself. It started with fidgeting: he shifted and nuzzled against Barry. He blinked a few times, sighing in response to Barry’s ministrations. He would guide Barry’s hand to the nape of his neck, or he would fiddle with the string on his hoodie. Finally, he chuckled at a joke in the cartoon and tilted his neck to peck Barry’s jaw.

“There you are,” Barry cooed. “Didn’t know when you were going to come back to me.”

Hal hummed. “I didn’t go anywhere,” he said. “I just zoned out a bit. It happens.”

“Yeah? How often?”

Hal frowned and didn’t answer, and so Barry tried a different question.

“You haven’t talked much about your most recent deployment. How was Oa?”

That garnered a reaction. Hal groaned and buried his face against Barry’s chest. Barry stroked Hal’s hair.

“That bad?” Barry asked.

“Worse. Worse than bad,” Hal mumbled. “Being on Oa is stressful as it is, but the actual mission- we didn’t get to everyone in time. Worse than bad.”

“You don’t have to talk about it. Not unless you want to.”

Hal said something unintelligible. He pulled away from Barry’s chest enough to try again, “Just- worse than bad.” He slumped against Barry again. Barry didn’t stop stroking his hair.

“I know how you feel about therapy and medication. But you see a lot, doing what you do. Can I convince you to talk to someone?”

Hal mumbled intelligibly again. He didn’t bother lifting himself to clarify, and so Barry shifted until he could hear.

“Probably not.”

“Not even Dinah?”

Hal paused and Barry tried not to feel smug quite yet.

“If it’s Dinah,” Hal began slowly. “I’d consider talking to someone. She’s not a real therapist, you know.”

Barry kissed the top of Hal’s head. “She’s better than nothing. Next to J’onn, she’s also the most emotionally intelligent member of the League.” Hal chuckled at that.

“From a scale of Bruce to J’onn, how emotionally fucked are you?” he said in a game show voice, clearly finished with their more severe conversation. Barry let him: getting Hal to talk about maybe talking to Dinah was a victory in of itself. Hal paused and then added, “That being said, and I’ll deny it if you tell him, but Bats does try.”

“I know. I know you have a secret bromance with Batman that the rest of us aren’t privy to.”

Hal jerked up and gave Barry a look like murder while Barry tossed his head back to laugh. Hal eventually settled back down on Barry’s chest, but not without grumbling.

“Don’t tell Oliver I said that either; he’d be so jealous,” Barry mused, not quite finished with riling up Hal. Hal just snorted.

“He would not. Ollie is secure enough in our bromance to know better than to be jealous of Spooky.”

“… Should _I_ be jealous of Oliver?”

Hal sat up again, pointedly glanced around at their shared living space, and at their entangled bodies, and at the picture that Barry kept of them on the coffee table, and at his engagement ring, and then looked Barry in the eyes. “Yes.”

Barry hit him with a pillow and it took Hal darting forward and pulling him into a slow, tender kiss before Barry was soothed again. When they pulled away, Hal murmured, “Ollie and I definitely don’t do that. At least not since that road trip we took- I’m kidding! I’m kidding; don’t look at me like that.” Hal pecked him on the lips before melting back against his chest. They settled into a comfortable quiet as they continued watching the cartoon, Hal occasionally making comments such as, “A power ring would fix that,” and, “Do you think Oa has DVR? the Guardians could use some humor to dislodge the sticks from their asses.”

“I don’t know, but do you think we could convince Bruce to get us a DVR on the Watchtower? Wouldn’t it be so much more fun to watch _Rick and Morty_ in space?”

“Make sure you say exactly that when you make the request. I’m sure Bats would love to spend the money and energy to make _Rick and Morty_ in space happen.”

“Maybe if we asked Clark first, and then we could appeal to Diana, and then those two could double-team Batman.”

“Have fun lobbying Batman, babe. My ass isn’t moving from this couch.”

“Or you could get into contact with Roy who could get me into contact with Dick who could also help sell our cause.” Barry carried on like that, finding new and convoluted methods of appealing to Batman for a DVR, while Hal snuggled closer, feeling present for the first time since he’d arrived home.


	4. Hard to Hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truth be told,  
> You're hard to hold,  
> You gotta want it,  
> You gotta want it right now
> 
> -Hard to Hold (RAC ft. Tegan and Sara)

The ring box was sitting on his pillow. Well… not his pillow. Barry’s pillow. On Barry’s bed. But on Hal’s side of Barry’s bed—even if Hal loathed to admit that he and Barry were in a committed relationship, he could at least openly claim a side of the bed.

Hal approached the offending object slowly. Why would there be a ring box on this (his) side of the bed unless Barry wanted him to find it? Hal glanced around the room, half expecting the speedster to be hiding just around the corner, ready to appear in a, well, a _flash_ (Barry’s puns were rubbing off on Hal; this was dangerous). When he was sure he was alone, Hal reached out and snatched up the box. He paused again, and when he was _absolutely, positively certain_ that Barry wasn’t about to ambush him, Hal opened the box.

Wedged in the cushion of the box’s interior was a thick, silver band broken only by a step-cut emerald. There was a very thinly rolled sliver of paper tucked between the ring and its cushion. Hal eased out the paper without disturbing the ring. When he unrolled it, he recognized Barry’s handwriting immediately.

_it’s not what you think it is.  -barry_

“What the hell, Barr?!” Hal shouted at the empty apartment. Barry was at work; Hal knew Barry was at work. If he wanted to confront Barry at that very moment, he would have to confront him at the police station. That was far too public. Hal could always wait in the apartment for Barry to come home from work, but knowing Barry, he wouldn’t come home until some odd hour of the night. And even then, he would only to remember to come home when the alarm on his phone warned him that it was time to come home- an alarm that _Hal_ had set up.

Hal tossed the ring box back on the bed. He ran his hand through his hair. He took a deep breath. And then Hal pulled out his phone and called Barry.

 _“Hal?”_ Barry said, having picked up on the last ring before voicemail. There was background noise; Barry was clearly busy. “I didn’t know you were Earthside.” The background noise faded as Barry slipped outside or into a closet or wherever Barry went to give Hal his full attention during a clearly busy day at work. _Why would Barry give Hal his full attention while at work?_

“What the hell, Barr,” Hal repeated as he stared down the offending jewelry still resting on the bed where Hal had thrown it.

_“Either Bruce said something to you, or you found your gift.”_

“Why?” Hal didn’t clarify which scenario was correct; Barry could guess.

_“Well, platinum is durable and low maintenance, and the emerald is an obvious reference to your preferred color—”_

“You know what I meant.”

 Hal could practically hear Barry’s shrug. _“Because I wanted to. It’s not what you think it is.”_

 “What do I think it is?” Hal asked, picking up the box again. He popped it open and looked over the emerald. It was a well-designed ring, and it was masculine and aesthetically pleasing. Something Hal could wear on a regular basis. Hal snapped the box closed.

_“You think it’s a reason to bolt. It’s not.”_

“But--”

 _“It’s not a proposal. It’s not a collar, or a leash. I_ know _you, Hal. I know you run faster than me at the first glimpse of a diamond ring. But that isn’t a diamond ring. It’s emerald. So, take it down a notch. What do you want for dinner tonight? I’ll pick up whatever on the way home.”_

Hal frowned, palming the box still. “Pizza’s fine. I DVR’d _Jurassic Park_. Can we watch it tonight?”

_“’Course. I love you, Hal.”_

Hal paused before mumbling, “Iloveyoutoo.” Barry ended the call, still chuckling melodically.

 

As per usual, Barry was late coming home. Hal had fallen asleep on the couch, still cradling his borrowed copy of _The Art and Zen of Motorcycle Maintenance_. Barry quietly set down his keys, took off his shoes, and placed his stack of pizzas on the kitchen counter. He tapped into the speedforce to change so that when he approached the couch he was in an old t-shirt and a pair of sweats.

“Hal?” He murmured, careful to not touch Hal as he hovered over him. Hal’s eyelashes fluttered and then he was furrowing his brow and groaning.

“Time?” Hal asked before yawning. He blearily opened his eyes while Barry checked his phone.

“Like… 11:30?” Barry murmured. Hal frowned.

“Are you asking a question?”

“… It’s after midnight, but I do have pizza.”

Hal groaned again and sat up, letting his book fall to the ground. Barry picked it up curiously.

“Are you thinking about investing in a bike, Highball?” Barry asked, skimming a few lines without flipping through it, to preserve Hal’s place in the novel.

“It’s not actually about motorcycles,” Hal yawned again and scratched his stomach. He pulled out his phone and found a few messages from Barry earlier in the evening, warning him that Barry’d be late. Hal rolled his eyes and tucked his phone back into his pocket before stretching.

“You’re not wearing the ring,” Barry murmured, gently placing the book onto the coffee table. “Does it fi alright?”

Hal shrugged and dug his hand into the couch cushion. When his hand remerged, he was clutching the ring box. “I haven’t tried it on,” he admitted.

Barry quirked an eyebrow. “Is it not your style? I thought about stylizing it after your Lantern ring, but I didn’t want to be too on the nose, y’know?”

Hal shook his head but couldn’t stop from smiling. “Well, it is emerald. That’s enough of a pun, I guess. And no, it’s just like something I’d wear.”

“I feel like there’s a but somewhere in there,” Barry murmured, reaching out for the box. Hal handed to him and didn’t say anything as Barry opened the box and plucked the ring from its cushion. Barry took Hal’s hand and gently slid the ring onto Hal’s fourth finger, so that it nestled against Hal’s knuckle next to the power ring.

“That’s my ring finger,” Hal noted.

“It is. I’d put it on your middle finger, but your power ring is there and two’s a crowd when it comes to rings,” Barry murmured. As Barry drew away his own fingers, Hal grasped them to keep him still while Hal studied the ring resting on Barry’s fourth finger. It, like Hal’s, was a band of platinum. Rather than one large emerald stone, Barry’s ring had several small, blue stones that circled the circumference of the ring.

“Sapphire,” Barry murmured. “Sorry for the unintended reference. It’s just my preferred blue stone.”

“There’s such thing as blue diamonds,” Hal pointed out, releasing Barry’s hand. “Why not that?”

“You don’t like diamond rings,” Barry shrugged. “You have a connotation that I didn’t want to invoke.”

“I also have a connotation with sapphires,” Hal mused. When Barry frowned, Hal leaned over and pecked him lightly on the cheek. “I’m kidding,” he murmurs. “I like your ring. It suits you.”

Barry sat down on the floor next to Hal and rested his head on Hal’s chest while Hal stroked his hair. If Hal were a better man, he’d have stood up and helped Barry set the table for a proper midnight dinner. Or at least he would have invited Barry to lay on the couch with him. Instead he allowed himself to feel the comforting weight of Barry against his chest without having to feel the pressure of Barry’s love around his neck.

“I’m working on it,” Hal finally said out loud. Barry didn’t move his head.

“Working on what?” Barry asked.

“My commitment issues. I’m working on it.”

Barry picked up his head to look Hal in the eyes. “You know, blue diamonds have this greenish hue. It’s part of what makes them so beautiful.”

“Diamonds are intrinsically worthless,” Hal said. Hal didn’t know why he needed to say that, but he did. Barry just shrugged.

“We assign worth to things. We make them what they are. In the case of diamonds, we make them kind of evil what with the wedding industry and conflict diamonds, but the point still stands. Something doesn’t have to be intrinsically valuable to still be worthwhile. Something doesn’t have to be terrifying to be long term. I wouldn’t ever want to change you and make you more like me. I’m not here to cage you, and I’m not asking you to co-raise 2.5 kids in a house with a white picket fence. But I love you, and you’re eventually going to have to get over that.”

Hal didn’t know what to say, so he willed a pair of bunny ears to appear behind Barry’s head. Somehow that made it easier to find words.

“I love you too, Barr,” he murmured, staring at the ears rather than at Barry. When he dared to glanced at Barry, he was relieved to see Barry’s eyebrows quirked but no anger or disappointment in his eyes. Not that he had ever known Barry to get angry. Not like Hal—Hal’s anger was explosive. Hal punched and kicked and fought when he was angry. Barry only punched and kicked and fought for what he loved.

“I’d still love you even if you were an intrinsically worthless diamond,” Hal continued, looking Barry in the eyes but keeping the ears for sanity’s sake. “And you deserve stability. I don’t know how to give stability—it’s not really my thing. But I want you and I’m sticking around for as long as you want me.”

Barry grinned and leaned in to kiss Hal. “That’s okay with me,” Barry murmured when he pulled back. Hal pulled Barry onto the couch, which definitely wasn’t big enough for both of them to lay down and be comfortable, and kissed him again.

“Please disperse the ears,” Barry murmured against Hal’s mouth after a few moments.

“Or what?” Hal asked, grinning. The bunny ears grew a brighter green.

“Or I delete _Jurassic Park_ and put on a forensic science documentary faster than you can say ‘try me,’” Barry cooed.

The ears dispersed immediately.


End file.
